His name is Evil: Levi Bellfield

Over the holidays I have been saturated in crime investigations, developing upon my patch as a crime and court reporter last semester. As well as watching documentary's such as 'Evil up close' and 'When life means life' on the Crime Channel, I have been following a book titled 'Life means life' by Nick Appleyard, covering the minority of cases where prisoners will die behind bars; such as the likes of Anthony Arkwright, Ian Brady, Rose and Fred West, Steve Wright, Dennis Nilsen and closer to home: Levi Bellfield.

CC Attribution - Author: Synikalle

This was the most astonishing of all, as Levi Bellfield, similarly to I was born in Isleworth. He attacked woman in the area I have lived in my entire life, nothing like this has ever happened here before, and until now I have never been able to put a name or face to my dads warning "there's a hammer man on the loose", he would say, at a time when I was only aged 11 and starting secondary school. It was devastatingly horrible to know that something as big as murder had happened virtually on my door step, only round the corner from where I went to school, and where I live.

Levi Bellfield, was one of six children. At the age of eight his father died of a heart attack. In his early teens he was showing signs of sadistic and abnormal tendencies. At the age of 13, he tortured and killed his sister’s pet rabbit, and school friends recall a rumour that he tried to have sex with the animal.

He was known as the 'The Hammer Man', in my area, but tabloids branded him 'The Bus Stop Killer', because his trademark would be to wait at bus stops or follow buses late at night, targeting blonde vulnerable girls who were alone. He would approach them and offer them lifts, sex, drugs or drink, and those who would reject his offers, faced the brunt of his raging revenge.

In 2011, Bellfield was found guilty of killing school-girl Milly Dowler, aged 13, who went missing in Walton-on-Thames on her way home from school in March 2002. Her body was found six months later in woodlands in Hampshire.

In February 2003, LEVI, whose name is an anagram of EVIL beat Marsha McDonnell aged 19, over the head with a hammer, when she was feet away from her home in Hampton. He had followed her bus in his van, and after attacking her, left her to die on the pavement. In May 2004 he stalked 18 year old student Kate Sheedy who got off a bus in Isleworth, Bellfield ran her over as she was crossing the road. He then reversed and ran over her again to ensure she was dead, but she survived after managing to make a call to the emergency services. She was the star witness to the prosecution service, as she lived to tell the tale.

In August 2004, his next innocent target was Amelie Delagrange, who got off at the wrong bus stop. Bellfield approached her and as she refused to talk to him, he responded with a brutal attack; it didn't take much for him to switch from nice to nasty. As the 22 year old went to cross my local cricket pitch known as Twickenham Green to get home, he beat her over the head three times with a hammer. From that day onwards, the local area was petrified and stunned by what had happened, and many woman were fearful that he would strike again. While Bellfield was on remand in Belmarsh Prison, in South East London, he confided in Paul Jarvis and admitted to killing her after she refused his offer of Cocaine.

Bellfield was even capable of turning on his friends, in 2004 he attacked again, this time hitting his friend Peter Rodriguez over the head with a hammer three times and stabbing him in the stomach and kneecaps with a screwdriver.

Bellfield has eleven children, by five different women. His ex-girlfriend of three years Johanna Collins spoke about how he would return home, from work as a nightclub bouncer, and boast about the girls he would of raped that night, referring to them as “another little slut” that he had in the back of his car. He was in the car clamping business, owning four different cars, one of which was a Toyota Previa people carrier that had blacked out windows. He would keep a mattress and blankets in the back of his car which would come in handy when he lured drunken naive girls into his trap. Those who ignored his advances were sometimes drugged and raped. Bellfield was fuelled by steroids and cocaine, he believed he was above the law, and cleverly disposed of his vehicles and clothes that were used during the attacks. He also boasted to work colleagues how he was shave his entire body to avoid leaving traces of DNA; he believed he was “untouchable”. However, he wasn't clever enough to consider CCTV from buildings and buses, which had footage of all his vehicles, placing him at the scene of the crimes. He would order his ex to scrub the cars out to remove any traces of what he had done. Johanna Collins mentioned how she had found Bellfield’s stalking kit in the garage one day, inside it was a coat, a bobble hat and a magazine. The coat was heavy on one side, she discovered that the lining in the left hand pocket had been cut out so that his hand could go right the way down to his hunting knife. She realised that the bobble hat was a full face balaclava, and all the models in the magazine with blonde hair had been slashed up. When faced with the discovery he flew into a rage shouting “I f**king hate blondes, they should all f**king die”. Becky Wilkinson who was the mother to four of his children said how the life tariff had made her feel safe for the first time in years; as he would hit her and rape her.

The day before Bellfield was arrested, the police followedhis car. He pulled up and spoke to two young girls at a bus stop. The girlslater told the police how he had offered them a lift, and that he had askedtheir age. When he received a response of 14, he said “you must be virgins – Ibet you are nice and tight”, he laughed as he drove off.

At the time of his arrest, mother of three of his children Emma Mill’s was living with him. At around 4/5am, 30 policemen armed with guns, and dogssurrounded his house in West London. At that time he was in bed, Mill’s said how she had never seen him look so scaredbefore. He looked at her and said “I’m sorry” and then hid in the loft. Policefound him naked, crouched behind a roll of insulation, as he tried to hidehis private parts which had shrunk due to steroid abuse.

Bellfield was convicted on 25^th February 2008with double murder and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy. Later in 2011, hewas found guilty of the murder of Milly Dowler. Police suspect he is guilty ofmany more attacks on women, linking him to potentially 20 further offences.Officers are still working through cases. After trial, it came to light thatBellfield’s first girlfriend when he was 12 years old, was murdered in the 1980’s, her name was Patsy Morris, she was only aged 14. This is just one of many crimes that police will bequestioning him on.

Bellfield refused to attend court, blaming the tabloids for their adverse accounts about him, every national tabloid had the verdict on their front page the next morning. The Sun's headline was "HE KILLED MILLY TOO". Surviving victim Kate Sheedy described him as a "complete coward" for not showing his face in court. Sentencing Bellfield in his absence Judge Mrs Justice Rafferty said: "You have reduced three families to unimagined grief. What dreadful feelings went through your head as you attacked and in two cases, snuffed out a young life is beyond understanding. You will not be considered for parole and must serve your whole life in prison." DCI Collin Sutton who lead the investigation said outside court "Levi Bellfield is a predator, who preyed on women over a period of time. He targeted his victims at random, attacking those much smaller and weaker than him. Only he knows why he did it." 

References

Appleyard, N. (2009) LIFE MEANS LIFE. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd, p.33-40.

Evil Up Close - His name is Evil: Levi Bellfield (n.d.) [TV programme] Crime and Investigation network.